Axida’s PPD means Bazaar is full of beans
Are you sitting comfortably? Many thousands of Brits are, thanks to their favourite online beanbag company, Bazaar Group.
And its best selling Bazaar Bag is monstrously good, just like the software they use according, to Managing Director Mark Dolder.
The PPD software from Axida, which looks after all elements of orders, dispatch and after-sales, has enabled Bazaar Group to stay in pole position as the UK market leader despite hundreds of other online beanbag companies springing up and hotly pursuing the title.
It efficiently handles the order process from Bazaar Group’s five ecommerce websites and multiple sales channels allowing Mark and his colleagues to focus on other crucial elements of the business.
“PPD is a hell of a beast,” says Mark. “It’s been created by a highly experienced and technically able team that develops retail software for blue chip companies, giving small businesses like us the opportunity to reap the benefits.
“Without dispute, PPD has been intrinsic to our growth,” he says. “It has enabled us to reduce manpower costs, handle a much greater volume of orders from multiple channels and provide fantastic customer service.”
Mark’s wife Jayne started the business as a hobby in 2004 after being disappointed with the beanbags available on the high street. Demand grew fast and she became one of the very early eBay entrepreneurs opening a shop on the site.
Beanbags suit the online market perfectly – the size and low unit value means that the high street retailers won’t devote sufficient floor space to stock full ranges.
From small beginnings in a spare room and garage, the Bazaar Group now has commercial premises in Northumberland, designing and manufacturing all of their products on site and supplying TV shows including The X Factor, Britain’s Next Top Model and Top Gear.
PPD is an online, pay as you go service and looks after product warehousing, inventory management, picking, packing and dispatch, with many features found in complex, high-end warehouse management systems.
“PPD is a completely automated and rock solid system allowing our customers to place orders that are fully transactional,” says Mark. “The orders are automatically loaded from the web into PPD so we can print off a picking list, and there is lots of flexibility in the way the pick is done, so you can choose to pick by carriers or sales channel for example
“The receipts and box labels are individually and automatically branded to the right sales channel, and as the goods leave the building, a manifest is produced for the carrier.
“We used to wade through paper to answer customers’ queries,” he says. “Now all the history pings up on screen providing us with the background information immediately.”
Not that the team at Beanbag Bazaar can sit back and relax. Maintaining the number one spot requires constant innovation in terms of marketing and product development and, as in any business, unexpected issues crop up along the way.
“We’ve had a situation recently resulting in urgently needing to integrate a number of new carriers into the PPD software, and Axida have been extremely helpful, working throughout the night and weekends to carry out the upgrade.
“They are customer care experts. We are given the same service as big companies with watertight service level agreements.”
Now that Bazaar Group has sold beanbags in their thousands from John o’ Groats to Lands End, is Mark ready to cash in and crash out?
“Absolutely not,” he says. “Many people still have an outdated, 1970s perception of the beanbag but when they get to try ours they are very surprised at the versatility.
“We will continue to focus on product innovation and enhancing the customer experience as there is still a long way for the beanbag to go and a large, untapped market in the UK.”